The Perks of Community Canteens Won’t Last Much Longer!

Near my home, there used to be several small eateries where I could occasionally enjoy a bowl of noodles, dumplings, or wontons. Then came the neighborhood redevelopment project — every shop was torn down, and construction dragged on for months.

Just across the street, a brand-new community canteen opened. I thought it might be a decent substitute, so one evening, I decided to give it a try.

To my surprise, the food wasn’t bad at all — comparable to a student cafeteria. For just over 20 yuan, I could get one meat dish and two vegetable sides. It was simple but satisfactory. That night, there were about a dozen diners, with retirees making up less than a third. Over time, I went back a few more times, and even my family became curious to check it out.

Then, during my last visit, I found a piece of tissue floating in my soup. Disgusted, I quietly left without making a scene, out of sympathy for how hard it is to run such a place. But that was the end of my relationship with the community canteen — I’d rather walk several hundred meters to the Lanzhou noodle shop instead.

For me, the chapter on community canteens had closed.

The Promise and the Harsh Reality

Community canteens are a relatively new initiative, and like all new ventures, they began with optimism. As Banyuetan magazine highlighted earlier this year in an article titled “Community Canteens: Not Easy to Say ‘I Love You’”, many residents expressed appreciation and hoped these canteens could operate for the long term.

However, reports of heavy financial losses and waves of closures have been frequent.

For example, Banyuetan’s journalists reported that in one central province, 6 out of 9 newly built community canteens shut down due to losses, with an overall elderly canteen deficit rate of 61.77%. In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 2,059 elderly meal service points were built, but only 913 remained operational — half of which were still running at a loss.

A survey by the Beijing branch of the National Bureau of Statistics found that 55% of elderly meal providers said meal prices could not keep up with costs, and the deficit gap was widening.

The Policy Push Behind the Movement

The birth of community canteens can be traced back to a September 2019 document from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which called for expanding elderly care services — including meal assistance — to meet urgent needs.

In 2023, 11 ministries jointly released the Action Plan for Actively Developing Elderly Meal Assistance Services, which set ambitious goals, such as:

• By the end of 2026, coverage of elderly meal services in urban and rural communities should be further expanded, with improved networks, sustainable development, and higher convenience and satisfaction.
• Incorporating elderly canteens into “15-minute home-based care service circles” and “15-minute convenience living circles.”
• Repurposing idle public buildings for elderly meal services after proper approval procedures.
• Providing tax reductions and residential utility rates for qualifying elderly canteens.
• Offering differentiated subsidies based on local economic conditions and the specific needs of elderly residents.

With such robust policy support, community canteens rapidly spread across the country between 2019 and 2023.

The Core Challenges

Yet, despite the fanfare, multiple investigations have revealed deep-rooted issues.

A recent study by East China University of Political Science and Law examined 25 community canteens, noting that most face three major cost pressures: rent, labor, and ingredients.

• Rent: While some benefit from government-provided spaces or reduced rent, many pay full market rates.
• Labor: Most operate with just 3–8 employees, who handle everything from procurement to cooking and cleaning. Wages follow market norms, which directly affects service quality.
• Ingredients: Supply is entirely market-driven, with government-led canteens often using centralized procurement — stable and transparent, but inflexible, sometimes leading to shortages or waste.

Satisfaction levels tend to be higher in economically developed regions, where local governments can afford greater subsidies. However, these subsidies — including tax breaks — are set to expire at the end of 2025, and extensions may depend on demonstrable success in fulfilling elderly care goals.

Why the Model Struggles

Two fundamental issues limit the effectiveness of community canteens:

1. Overlap with the existing restaurant market. The services they offer are already widely available — often with better quality and variety — from regular restaurants and delivery services. Elderly diners are not dependent on community canteens.
2. Limited appeal to the target demographic. To survive, many canteens open their doors to all age groups, unintentionally turning what should be a targeted elderly benefit into a “public perk.” Menus often cater more to younger tastes, undermining their original mission.

This situation also creates unfair competition: community canteens may enjoy rent and tax advantages that regular small restaurants don’t, pushing some out of business.

Rethinking the Approach

The reality is sobering: community canteens have neither become a true welfare solution for the elderly nor fully addressed their dining needs. Instead, they have strained the local dining ecosystem and operated under constant financial pressure.

A more practical approach might be directly subsidizing meal delivery for elderly residents who truly need it. Local organizations could identify eligible seniors, partner with food delivery services, and have the government cover the delivery costs — without mobilizing multiple departments to run full-scale canteens.

Sometimes, the simplest solution is also the most effective.